Have you all explored Lassen Volcanic National Park yet? If not, I urge you to move this Northern California national park to the top of your list and come prepared to be boldly reminded of just how alive our earth really is!

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Whether you’re happiest exploring volcanoes, the desert, and/or mountains, this 1.2 million-acre national park has it all! This park offers miles of hiking trails alongside beautiful cascade waterfalls, boiling and bubbly mud pots, pristine alpine lakes, caves, lava tubes, awe-inspiring turquoise hydrothermal pools, colorful soil, dark skies, swimming holes, and wildlife for days! Keep your eyes open, and if you’re lucky, you may even be presented with a choice viewing of the endangered Sierra Nevada red fox, or one of the many resident bat species, an adorable pika (I’m obsessed with pikas after Alaska), a black bear or even a cougar. Lassen, home to ALL four types of volcanoes (shield, lava dome, cinder cone, and composite), is easily accessible to all my Bay Area friends and, in my opinion… WAY underrated and under visited!

There are so, so many amazingly beautiful hikes in Lassen, and with the exception of the Bumpass Hell Trail, they are surprisingly mostly not that crowded. Check out Lassen Peak Trail if you are up for a challenging climb to the top of the peak, Bumpass Hell Trail for an easy but scenic tour to the boardwalk built around the largest concentration of hydrothermal features and highlights in the park – just don’t fall in and lose a leg like its namesake Kendall Vanhook Bumpass! If spectacular cascade waterfalls are your thing, hike out to see Kings Creek Falls, or if you want to experience Lassen’s second-largest hydrothermal area, hike Devil’s Kitchen Trail. These trails, views, and sights are all worthy of your sweat and energy!

The popular Bumpass Hell trail (3 miles roundtrip) and boardwalk reopened last fall after being closed for nearly two years for restorations. We hiked the less trafficked, longer route from Kings Creek – 6 miles roundtrip with a 1,000-foot climb. This longer, less populated trail also allows you to hike past Cold Boiling Lake, wildflowers, and offers no shortage of spectacular views on your way up.

A short list of highlights to see and do while visiting Lassen:

• Hike – duh… ! With 150-plus miles of trails, there is no shortage of amazing hikes and views to be found here! Please note that pets are not permitted on any hiking trails in the park.
• Bumpass Hell Trail – A popular and easy 3-mile roundtrip hike taking you to a well-maintained boardwalk that allows you to walk through beautiful and mind-blowing hydrothermal sights, including pools, mud pots, geysers, and steam vents. You know you are getting close when you begin to smell the sulfur, and you can see the steam coming up from the ground in the distance.
• Devastated Area Interpretive Trail – An easy ½ mile walk that wanders through pink and gray lava rocks on a paved trail; perfect for families that can’t get out on those longer hikes! This interpretive trail uses plaques to describe the effects of the Lassen Peak eruptions.
• Kings Creek Falls – Such a spectacular hike and sight to see! We combined a few different hikes to extend our hiking journey and mileage to view the falls, but there are also easier and shorter hikes available to access them.
• Subway Cave – Bring a flashlight and wear sturdy shoes and a jacket, and explore a 1/3 mile-long underground lava tube.
• Kayak, stand-up paddle board, or fish at Manzanita Lake
• Scenic, 1.9-mile walk around Manzanita Lake
• Visit the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center – An interactive and informative museum that Alan had to pull me out of so that we could get on with our hike.
• Sulpher Works – Drive and stop at Sulphur Works parking lot to view Lassen’s most accessible hydrothermal area. You can view boiling mud pots and steam vents right from the sidewalk.
• Lassen Peak
• Cinder Cone
• Boiling Springs Lake
• Find a swimming hole
• Camping

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Lassen National Park is both deadly and beautiful, and as far as national parks go, it’s oh-so quiet and peaceful! I recommend visiting this park in the summer after the snow has melted or in the fall before the snow returns, but after the influx of summer visitors depart!

Camping:

Click on this link Mill Creek Resort – Great Camping Just Outside Lassen Volcanic National Park to read my Mill Creek Resort campground post.

Pets are allowed at the campground on a leash but unfortunately not on any hiking trails within the park.